


Baby, You Missed Every Sign

by big_brother_wrath



Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series)
Genre: >:3 Sara, A Christmas Story Musical, Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M, Musical, Secret Santa, oblivious shane, shyansecretsanta2k18
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-27 12:31:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17162036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/big_brother_wrath/pseuds/big_brother_wrath
Summary: When Sara invites Shane to a production-wide Secret Santa, he's not expecting anything of it. He knows who he is: tense, a control freak, and blunt to a fault. So when he picks up signs that lead actor Ryan Bergara may have a crush on his best friend, Shane is willing to get the two of them together no matter what it takes.Little does he know that Sara isn't the one Ryan is after, and along the way, Shane will miss every sign that Ryan may be in love with him.





	Baby, You Missed Every Sign

**Author's Note:**

  * For [bodhirookes](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bodhirookes/gifts).



> Thanks for the amazing prompts, Jo! You were a lovely person to talk to and a great inspiration for this fic. 
> 
> Sincerely yours,  
> your little red pepper buddy

“So we decided to do a production-wide Secret Santa…” Sara starts and Shane knows that sing song tone from her. It’s the same one she uses when she’s about to ask Shane to do something he most definitely does not want to do. He busies himself with the unfinished checklist in his hands, eyes darting back and forth from the stage to the items. She’s still patiently waiting next to him and Shane supposes he has to respect that.

  
“What about it?” Shane asks, coming off a bit more rudely than he’d like. He doesn’t mean to be rude, there’s just a lot to be done and he’s the stage manager. He has to talk in quick short statements so everything can get done on time.

  
“So I was thinking you should be a part of it!” she says, her smile far too bright for the theater. Shane sighs, very sure she’s ignoring the waves of “no” energy rolling off of him right now. Secret Santa? He’s not a huge fan of the holidays since he started spending them alone in college. Everyone rushes off for winter break, the dorms shut down, campus hours are shortened, and Shane is stuck in his apartment with no friends. Bah humbug or whatever the Scrooge says.

  
Sara is still waiting patiently for his answer and Shane finally tears his eyes from the checklist to look at her. Oh, dammit. She knows he has a weakness for her puppy dog eyes in particular and it doesn’t help that she looks actually excited for this Secret Santa. She’s practically vibrating where she stands.

  
“I really don’t think--”

  
“Aw, c’mon Shane! You’re always so busy with school or whatever production we’re working on. You don’t hang out with techs or the actors. Plus…” Sara pretends to look around for prying ears, which Shane sees a plethora of from tech and talent alike. She gestures for him to lean down and Shane entertains her, a small smile toying at his lips as he stoops down to her height.

  
“I heard you’re scaring a lot of people too,” she whispers into his ear and Shane can’t help the laugh that escapes him. Oh, perfect. People are afraid of him. He can’t tell if he likes that or not, but he’ll run with the fear for now. Probably doesn’t help that his height means he’ll be towering over a lot of talent.

  
“Also, someone might have a crush on you,” she quickly adds before stepping away, holding her arms behind her back and grinning cheekily at Shane. The stage manager straightens up and regards her with a quirked eyebrow. Okay, the scare thing is believable. The crush thing? Shane knows who he is. He’s a too tall theater geek that also happens to major in film. His hair stands in two different directions even when he puts effort into it and he doesn’t care about how he dresses.

  
He’s about to offer some witty retort when the lead actor for their musical suddenly bounces into the conversation.

  
“Hey Sara, TJ needs your opinion on something. He says he has no idea what color to paint something in the backdrop,” Ryan says, giving her a dazzling grin. Shane looks at the actor before looking at Sara, who presses her lips together in a shy smile and says she’s on her way, giving Shane a look before scampering off. Oh, so there might be two showmances happening…

  
Well, as long as it didn’t distract people from the show…

  
“Hey Shane.”

  
Shane looks up from his checklist to see Ryan still standing there, his smile dimmed just a bit but enough to appear friendly. The actor doesn’t really done much to offend Shane, aside from occasional prank and times he’d shown up hungover.

  
“Hey,” Shane returns, pretending not to know the actor’s name. He folds up his checklist and slips it into the back pocket of his jeans, ready to end their short-lived conversation to check on crew in the back.

  
“I’m Ryan, nice to meet you. I saw you in the script reading?” Ryan says, now sticking out his hand. Shane internally sighs but meets Ryan’s smile with an easy smile of his own. He shakes the actor’s hand.

  
“Yeah, I remember you. You’re playing Scrooge right?” he asks and Ryan seems shy with the attention.

  
“Yeah, I am.” Ryan seems at a loss for conversation and Shane offers him a slight smile.

  
“I really have to go check on someone, I’ll see you in rehearsals,” Shane says, nodding to him. Ryan almost looks disappointed but the actor nods nonetheless, sparing Shane from anything awkward.

  
“Yeah, totally. See you during rehearsals,” he says but Shane is already walking away.

  
Sara suddenly materializes next to Ryan and has her cheeky smile on her face as she leans against Ryan’s side. The actor pays her no attention but her mischievous vibes are impossible to ignore.

  
“You’re staring,” Sara remarks and Ryan quickly turns away, feeling his cheeks heat up as he glares at her. Sara hums happily.

  
“He’s going to be in the Secret Santa, y’know,” she sings to Ryan and he shakes his head, unable to hide the smile blooming on his face. He leaves her standing where she is, off to try and control his blush before lending a hand around the stage.

 

* * *

 

Everyone Sara invited to the Secret Santa drawing is packed in her living room, chatting with one another about the musical or classes. Similar majors grouped together and members of the same crew cliqued to discuss what they were worried about or looking forward to. Shane had gotten caught up with some homework and wound up being late to the little get together, showing up when everyone else had already grouped up. Sara hands him a can of beer and pushes him towards the hubbub.

  
Shane immediately tucks his free hand into the pocket of his jacket, steering himself against one of the walls of the room before cracking open the beer. It froths but doesn’t foam out of the top, Shane eagerly taking a sip of it. It doesn’t taste incredible but they’re all broke college students. If you wanted quality, you wouldn’t be drinking beer for starters.

  
“Hey Shane! Didn’t expect to see you here!”

  
Shane turns, still in the middle of his first sip when Ryan suddenly materializes in front of him. Shane quickly swallows his beer and offers a tight smile.

  
“Well, can’t always be a Scrooge, I guess. That's your job,” he says and chuckles, winking at the actor. Ryan laughs a bit too hard at the joke and Shane finds himself genuinely laughing at Ryan’s laugh. It really wasn’t that funny, but he appreciates Ryan for being cordial.  
“You just get here?” Ryan asks and Shane shrugs, gesturing at his jacket.

  
“Yeah, my Art 454 class had some homework due tonight and Sara never lets me go home early so, just a little late.” Shane looks over at the actor, who seems to have a pensive look on his face.

  
“How much do you know about Sara?” Ryan asks, his tone taking a different turn. Shane mentally notes that, wondering if this is the crush Sara was referring to earlier. Well, if it is, then Shane is going to do what every best friend does when someone has a crush on her: get them together. Operation Ryara is a go!

  
“Sara? She’s great! She’s really generous and passionate about painting. One time, she spent two days straight painting a birthday gift for a friend because she felt like it. She’ll stick her nose into your business but it’s all out of love, y’know? Never a boring day with her,” Shane says, sipping his beer to swallow how weird gushing sounds coming from him. If it’s for Sara, though… Shane really hopes he’s doing this “wingman” thing right. He glances over at Ryan who suddenly seems incredibly tense, his smile tight around the edges. Shane takes another generous sip, wondering where he’d gone wrong. He wasn’t even talking about himself…

  
“It sounds like you care a lot about her,” Ryan says, also taking a chug from his beer. Shane shrugs it off, figuring there definitely needs to be a topic change.

  
“She’s my best friend. Hey, what about you? What’re you into?” Shane asks, gesturing at Ryan with his can. The tension seems to relax from Ryan’s shoulders and the actor seems to fold into himself, shrugging.

  
“Oh, don’t be a shrinking violet now, Ryan. You’re our lead, tell me a little about yourself I should know. Or something I should keep in mind when I plan rehearsals,” Shane says, turning to fully face Ryan and lean against the wall. He amusedly watches Ryan fiddle with his can of beer and seem to struggle for conversation. Who knew Ryan could get so tongue tied talking to someone? Every time Shane has caught sight of him, he’s suavely chatting with anyone willing to listen.

  
“I live pretty far from campus, actually, and I usually take the bus back to my apartment so if you could avoid late rehearsals…” Ryan asks, voice incredibly hopeful. Shane internally winces. His pre-planned rehearsal schedule definitely stretches to some late nights, ones that other talent have been requesting due to class schedules and work… If Ryan can’t make it late nights, he’ll probably miss crucial information and on top of that, just rehearsal in general.

  
“I, uh… Don’t think I can really do that,” Shane says apologetically, watching Ryan wilt just a little bit.

  
“But! I have a car, so if you want, I can drive you on those late night rehearsals. I really wouldn’t mind,” Shane offers, already figuring out ways to get Sara to join in on this. Being a third wheel will suck but if it makes Sara happy, Shane’s more than willing to commit to being a chauffeur.

  
“Really?” Ryan asks, perking up again. He must be figuring out the same thing as Shane.

  
“Yeah, absolutely, no problem.”

  
They chat a bit more, Shane discovering that Ryan has a passion for film and editing just like he does. They’re studying different courses in the program though, so they definitely won’t have any classes together. Shane explains why he joined theater, explaining how he’d started out as a lead actor just like Ryan but eventually transitioned to being stage manager. He had gotten busy during one semester and was cast as a secondary character, but wound up giving the role to his understudy. It’s better than being a scene stealer when he doesn’t mean to be, so he left to become a part of stage crew.

 

“Yeah, Sara told me you’re amazing,” Ryan says.

  
“Well… Not to toot my own horn, but there’s a reason I always got lead,” Shane says, hiding a smile behind the lip of his can. Ryan seems to smile just as brightly, knocking their cans together in a silent toast.

  
“Alright guys! Time to draw lots!” Sara announces from the center of the living room, standing atop an ottoman to get everyone’s attention. In her hands is a dollar store Santa cap and as she rustles it, the sound of paper fills the air. Shane finishes off his beer and reluctantly pulls away from the wall to join the circle of people. Ryan follows after him, standing at his left.

  
One by one, Sara steps up to each person and lets them draw their recipient. Some Santas giggle at their slips and show them to the friends around them. Others keep their stoic faces on as they read the slip and tuck away into a pocket. TJ takes a slip before his eyebrows shoot up to his hairline, looking around the circle before elbowing Andrew next to him. He shows him the slip and Andrew chuckles nervously as he draws his lot, looking slightly bummed at his person.

  
When it comes to Ryan, the actor dives his hand into the last slips of paper left over, rustling the bag for dramatic effect. Everyone laughs, including Shane, as he triumphantly holds up a folded name and makes a show of reading it in private. He must obviously not be expecting who it is, because Ryan drops the bit in seconds and straightens up, looking at Sara with dumbfounded eyes. Way to be subtle, Shane thinks, as he reaches into the bag. He picks out the last name in the hat and unfolds it.

  
_Ryan Bergara_

  
Oh, fuck.

  
“Sara can I change na--”

  
“Nope! You get what you get and you don’t throw a fit!” she sings and Shane is really starting to hate that tone. He can actually see TJ and Andrew switching names right behind her! He opens his mouth to protest but is silenced by the look she gives him. Alright, alright. Making it difficult for the wingman, huh?

  
“Who’d you get?” Shane asks Ryan when the circle starts to disperse. He looks at Shane, still in a daze of sorts, before a blush crosses both of his cheeks. Oh, now that was adorable, Ryan suddenly losing his suave nature because he got Sara.

  
“Wouldn’t be a Secret Santa if I told you, now would it?” Ryan asks and Shane shakes his laugh.

  
“She really likes watercolor,” he hints and Ryan looks confused for a second, tilting his head before laughing, shrugging at the advice. Shane shrugs back, and suddenly they’re engaged in a shrugging competition, leaving them both wheezing by the end of it. Okay, maybe Ryan isn’t who Shane initially thought he was. Maybe he’s actually an okay guy.

  
Maybe he can be a friend.

 

* * *

 

Shane finds himself, either reluctantly or not, being drawn to Ryan as they spend more and more time together. The man is surprisingly genuine despite being an actor and never seems to get frustrated with Shane’s personality. It’s incredibly refreshing to have someone other than Sara to be able to vent some of his feelings to… They’ve started seeing each other outside of meetings and rehearsals, Ryan inviting him to coffee sometimes. Shane presumes it’s to try and formulate a strategy to get a date with Sara, but they always get distracted with talking about themselves.

  
Shane can’t say he minds them getting off track, he’s learned so much about Bergara. He feels slightly guilty about this, since he’s trying to do this for Sara’s sake, but he figures she’d be grateful that her future boyfriend already gets along with her shitty best friend.  
During one late night rehearsal, Sara winds up needing to leave early, and Shane is the one to kick her out of the hall when he sees how pale her skin is and how glassy her eyes look. She should absolutely not be working if her art midterm has left her a corpse. Plus, what would she do during rehearsal? The sets are nearly finished and if that bothers the talent, they can do what they do best and act like they’re done.

  
The rehearsal goes off without a hitch, Shane keeping his comments to himself about some of the talent’s acting. Where the hell did they even find the guy to play the Ghost of Christmas Present? Shane could act better than that, and he has half the mind to get up there and outshow the guy. Still, there’s a reason he decided to stay stage manager, so he keeps his comments to himself and just makes a mental note to speak to the director after this musical has had its run.

  
Shane is always the last to leave rehearsals, checking to make sure everything is off and put away so no curious band geek touches it. Ryan is sitting on the stage, waiting for him as he does the same tradition every rehearsal.

  
“Alrighty, little guy, you ready to get out of here?” Shane asks, picking up his backpack next to Ryan. The actor puts his phone away and grins up at Shane. Something about that smile is contagious because Shane finds himself smiling right after Ryan. Actors, he thinks, patting his pockets to make sure he has everything to get home. Wallet, phone, keys… Homework.

  
“Aren’t you forgetting something?” Ryan asks, nodding at the lamp on the table by the stage. Shane looks at it before sighing, rolling his eyes.

  
“I always think this is a waste of electricity,” he mumbles as he jumps off the stage and picks it off the table. Ryan stares at Shane as he clambers back onto the stage and pulls open a hidden outlet from the wood, plugging the lamp into it. It blinks alive, bathing the two of them in a golden light. Ryan has dramatic shadows on his face, giving him the ethereal glow that indie movies crave. Shane can’t help but appreciate how handsome he looks in this light… He would give almost anything to take a picture of his face and write an entire movie around it.

  
Wait, he’s wingman.

  
“Well, if we don’t, the ghosts are gonna wreck the props and set so it’s not really a waste of electricity,” Ryan says before sliding off the stage himself. Shane follows after him and they start to wander out of the hall.

  
“Ghosts aren’t real, Bergara. We only turn it on because some idiots can’t see in the dark,” Shane quips. He doesn’t realize Ryan has stopped walking until he turns to ask if he’s hungry, finding the little guy gone.

  
“You don’t believe in ghosts?” Ryan asks, a few paces behind Shane. Shane gives him a bewildered look, shaking his head furiously.  
“No! They’re not real, all the ‘evidence’ people present is so obviously doctored,” Shane remarks and Ryan throws his hands up into the air.

  
“Of course you’d say that. You and all other skeptics say the some stuff. You guys want your evidence so badly but the second we show you guys anything, ‘oh that’s fake,’” Ryan fires back, distorting his voice to mock skeptics. Shane finds it rather funny, chuckling as he pulls out his phone to check on Sara.

  
_[_ 9:56pm _] Shane: Your boyfriend thinks ghosts are real. Sara, come get your_ mans _._

  
“All I’m saying is that every time something ‘happens’, it’s always in the other room, or your audio doesn’t pick it up,” Shane returns and keeps on walking out of the hall. He hears Ryan sputter in indignation before trotting after him, those little legs struggling to catch up. Shane smiles smugly at the thought.

  
“Ghosts don’t have that much energy! There’s so much evidence that ghosts are real. There’s eyewitness accounts, there’s EVP, readings, multiple people with no connection to one another experiencing the same apparition. There’s full body apparitions too!” Ryan rattles on, animatedly throwing his hands into the air as he mimics each type of evidence. Shane watches him out of the corner of his eye as he locks up the hall. This Ryan is much better than shy boy Ryan. Don’t get him wrong, shy Ryan was cool for the first two days of meeting him, but Shane much rather prefers this Ryan. Y’know, the one who loves talking with his entire body and makes a face if you say something stupid. That Ryan is way cooler than shy boy Ryan.

  
“Next you’re gonna tell me you don’t believe in aliens,” Ryan finishes after working himself into a huff. Shane straightens up and pockets his keys, shrugging.

  
“Oh my God!” Ryan shouts and Shane feels himself laugh harder than he has since freshman year. He almost doesn’t want to drive Ryan home, just because he’d love to hear what conspiracy theories Ryan has stored in that noggin of his… Would it be wrong of a wingman to eat with his best friend’s romantic interest? Is that a violation of wingman rules?

  
They’ve made it to the parking garage Shane’s in before he decides fuck it. They’re buckling their seat belts in Shane’s old Honda when Shane suddenly puts his hands on his lap, stopping Ryan mid-rant.

  
“I’m hungry. Wanna go to Golden Flower?” he asks, turning to look at Ryan with a genuine smile. The actor looks at him with a look before laughing, rubbing some stress from his eyes.

  
“Only if you admit ghosts are real,” he says and Shane shrugs as he starts up the car, backing out of his spot.

  
“Guess we’re never going to Golden Flower…”

  
“You dick!”

  
At the restaurant, Shane orders his usual of fried rice and Ryan grabs some pho, which tips Shane off that Ryan’s never been to Golden Flower. Rule number one: never get pho at Golden Flower. Get anything but the pho.

  
“So as I was saying, you have to admit it’s pretty weird an entire town with 66 people can’t figure out who killed off four people in a family,” Ryan says and Shane nods.

  
“Yeah, I’m not gonna say the police may have been in a cover up, but there was definitely a cover up,” Shane says and Ryan wheezes, slouching against the seat.

  
“So, what’re you getting your Secret Santa?” Ryan asks and Shane shrugs, picturing the small bottle of cologne he’s planning to give Ryan. Sara had said it’d been her favorite from the shop they were in, so Shane figures it’d be a nice coincidence if Ryan started wearing it. Best wingman of all time? Yes, that would be Shane.

  
“Wouldn’t be a Secret Santa now would it?” Shane reminds Ryan and he chuckles.

  
“Is it gonna be expensive?” Ryan asks and to that Shane makes a face.

  
“No, no of course not. You only get expensive presents if you like the person,” Shane says and he sees Ryan blush across both cheeks, suddenly sitting up much more proper. Oh, he must’ve gotten something really nice for Sara… Maybe a piece of jewelry? Wouldn't that be a bit too forward? Maybe it’s that watercolor set Shane had pointed out to Ryan at Target the other week.

  
“You’re telling me,” Ryan says and Shane chuckles, happy to see their waitress coming with their food.

  
He watches eagerly as Ryan takes a sip of his pho and makes a face.

  
“Rule number one: don’t get Golden Flower pho.”

  
“I thought they might’ve gotten better at it!”

  
“Yeah yeah, want some of my fried rice? There’s a lot here.”

  
“Thanks, big guy.”

  
“No problem, little guy.”

 

* * *

 

It’s been a hectic opening week, with Shane dealing with the stress of midterms and making sure production ran as smoothly as possible. Two people have lost parts of their costume, half of light crew is down with some flu, and to top it all off, Sara had texted him in the morning:

  
_[7:36 am] Sara: He’s not interested in me you dingus._

  
So now Shane has a bottle of cologne he basically wasted money on and a really confused brain, which results in some sloppy stage manager decisions. It’s okay, the Secret Santa reveals are tonight and everything will finally be over. No more of this wingman act. Shane can just be Ryan’s friend now. Hopefully.

  
“Shane?”

  
The stage manager zooms around, face tight with stress as he glares at whoever dared to call him. Ryan stands in his Scrooge costume and looks at him, tilting his head with a smile. Shane sighs and rubs his eyes with two fingers, turning away from Ryan and pretending to busy himself with another checklist. Deja vu.

  
“Shane, hey.” Ryan steps closer to him and Shane starts to emit his “fuck off” vibes, the ones that scare everyone else off so he can finally focus on one thing at time. However, Ryan Bergara seems impervious to them as he saddles right up to Shane’s side and nudges his side with an elbow.

  
“Shane, it’s all going to be okay. We know this show, light crew already figured out how to do everything… It’s going to work out fine,” Ryan murmurs and Shane feels a hand on his back, rubbing what he thinks are supposed to be soothing circles. Shane sighs and wants to push Ryan away, but those soothing circles are working for the first time ever. He indulges in them for a second, closing his eyes and sucking in a deep breath.

  
Ryan is right. If he keeps worrying over every little detail, he’s going to stress himself out and wind up making even more bad calls. Everything feels so tight in his body but as Ryan keeps rubbing those circles, Shane feels himself relax more and more, until his body feels like it’s grounded again.

  
“Yeah, you’re right,” Shane murmurs and throws an arm around Ryan’s shoulders. “You guys got this.”

 

* * *

 

“Cheers!! Good job with today’s show!” Sara calls to the crew in her living room once again. Shane happily cheers back to her, raising his glass of proper liquor this time. Ryan is sitting right next to him on the couch, talking to his fellow actors and accepting their praise. Shane loves seeing how at home he is when he’s just talking to other people, and he supposes that’s part of the reason why Ryan tolerates Shane. He can turn any conversation topic they choose into something they both love to talk about.

  
“Alright guys, time to exchange presents! I’ll go first! Kristin, I got you!” Sara says, holding up a reindeer gift wrap present. The actress in question giggles with excitement as she tears into the gift, showing off the mini make-up brush set Sara got her. Shane sinks into the couch, his little gift bag sitting next to him. He figures that even if Ryan doesn’t like Sara, he’ll still like the present Shane got. A little cologne never hurt anyone.

  
“Ryan, it’s your turn!” Sara calls, her smile a bit more mischievious than before. Shane smirks at her before looking at Ryan, surprised to find a cardboard tube pointing at him. He stares at it for a couple more seconds until he realizes what Ryan is saying with it.  
“Oh! For me?” Shane says, pulling his hands out of his pockets to accept the tube. Hot damn, he’s been wrong the entire time! Ryan had been his Secret Santa the entire time, oh this’ll be funny to reveal.

  
“I wonder what it is,” Shane muses as he pops open one end of it. There’s a poster in there and Shane has to fish it out with his fingers, pulling it out and unrolling it the best he can.

  
What he sees has his jaw hitting the floor. In his hands is an original Broadway poster of _Heathers_ , one of his favorite musicals of all time. There are Sharpie scribbles of the original cast members’ signatures, going from Barret Wilbert Weed to Jessica Wynn to his personal favorite, Ryan McCartan. Holy shit!

  
“Ryan, this is such a thoughtful gift! You must’ve spent a fortune on it!” Shane says, turning to Ryan with a huge smile. The actor is clutching his glass tightly with a shy smile on his face, shrugging when he meets Shane’s eyes. A rosy blush is spreading across his face and up to his ears, and Shane isn’t sure if that’s just the alcohol talking. Ryan sure loves to blush around him.

  
_You only get expensive presents if you like the person._

  
Oh.

  
Shane stares at Ryan in a different light, turning to look at the gorgeous poster in his hands, and then back to Ryan. Oh, holy shit.  
Everything clicks together in a sudden rush that leaves Shane’s stomach doing backflips. Ryan talking to Shane that one day, Ryan asking Shane how well he knows Sara, Ryan getting tense every time he brings her up in conversation, Ryan starting to hang with Shane despite Sara not being around.

  
He’s a damn fool. Ryan isn’t into Sara at all.

  
Ryan’s been into Shane this whole time.

  
Shane then thinks of the cologne at his side and feels a seed of regret sprouting in his stomach. He… really really wants to get Ryan an expensive gift now, but it’s a bit too late for that, isn’t it?

  
“Well, thanks buddy,” Shane says, his voice a bit less excited than before. He quickly rolls up the poster and eases it back into the tube, corking it with the stopper.

  
“This is kinda funny because I got you, buddy!” Shane says, handing the gift bag over to Ryan. The actor laughs and quickly plows through the tissue paper, pulling out the box of cologne. Shane can feel Sara’s eyes on him as Ryan looks over the cologne. Yeah, Shane wants to know what the hell he’s doing too, Sara. He really does.

  
Ryan’s face looks happy and excited, but Shane has been around him enough to know when he’s acting. The gift may or may not be a bust and Shane internally sighs again, kicking himself in the shin. Fuck, he should’ve just… He should just… Goddammit.

  
“I love it Shane, but are you trying to tell me I smell bad?” Ryan asks and everyone around them bursts into a laugh as Shane quickly shoots that idea down.

  
“No! No, absolutely not. I just thought it smelled nice and you might like it,” Shane murmurs, his excuse as shitty as his present. Great, now he feels like a fucking idiot that definitely doesn’t deserve to be Ryan’s crush. God, why would he ever be? Ryan’s charismatic, he’s funny… He’s everything Shane wishes he was…

  
“Oh, well, either way thanks big guy. I love it.”

  
Shane is really starting to hate how tight Ryan’s smile is.

 

* * *

 

“What the fuck do you mean the actor and the understudy are out?” Shane hisses to the stagehand who just informed him that the Ghost of Christmas Present will not be in the musical tonight. He glowers at her before turning away, pulling his headset off of his ears. God fucking dammit, this week has been a disaster. After the Secret Santa, Ryan had gone home by himself and their friendship has been tense. They haven’t hung out since then, with Shane finishing up his midterms and Ryan probably avoiding him now. He does not need an actor going AWOL on him.

  
“T-They just called and said no, Shane. I’m sorry,” she says and Shane can hear the tears in her voice. He grits his teeth and turns to her but Sara once again materializes out of thin air, taking the girl in her arms and ushering her away. The look in her eyes says for Shane to stay right there until she comes back, which he does.

  
When Sara returns, Shane has taken a few deep breaths and found a seat, his head in his hands. His headset is in the seat next to him, and he can feel Sara resting her hand on his back.

  
“Please don’t. I can’t right now,” he says when he feels her start to rub circles. She retreats before crouching down in front of him.

  
“Hey…” she says but Shane can tell she doesn’t know what to say. Their final night and this musical has to go down in flames? God fucking dammit.

  
“Shane?” Sara calls and he finally looks up at her with his tired eyes. She gives him a small smile.

  
“I can think of a way to save this musical, and maybe work out that present you gave Ryan.”

  
Shane doesn’t hesitate.

  
“How?”

 

* * *

 

Ryan hasn’t been avoiding Shane per se… He’s just been trying to stomp his crush to death before he sees the big guy again. It’s not Shane’s fault he doesn’t reciprocate, and it’s not Ryan’s fault either, but he figures it’d be a bit awkward to talk to someone you’ve figured out has a crush on you.

  
Speaking of the guy, he hasn’t seen Shane all night, which is weird since Shane’s got such a need to supervise a lot of things happening for the musical. Still, as Scrooge, Ryan still has to go on stage and perform for closing night. He just wishes he could’ve seen Shane before going on stage.

  
It’s the second act of the musical and Scrooge is about to meet the Ghost of Christmas Present, the actor of which he hasn’t seen at all either. Ryan is singing about his lament for the events of the past but that’s not what he can change now, how it’s all out of his hands. Just like this stupid crush on Shane.

  
Suddenly, a figure enters stage right and Shane almost breaks character when he sees Shane in the costume for the ghost. Dressed in the period clothing of the time, Shane has soot on his cheeks and hits just the right note to start the song between the two of them.  
He’s… magical on stage. Ryan is frozen where he stands as Shane explains the poverty and hardship the town faces during Christmas, addressing the family of Ryan’s sole employee. It’s only muscle memory that Ryan recalls his cues, singing along with Shane as they wander from window to window, family to family.

  
Good God, this crush will never die now. Sara had told Ryan that Shane used to act, used to sing, but he had left it all behind to become stage manager. Now, Ryan understands truly how talented Shane is. His voice is a caress of sound against Ryan’s ears and his expressions come as natural as breathing to him. If Shane is meant to be a secondary character, he’s managed to transform the Ghost of Christmas Present into the protagonist.

  
As their musical number together ends, Ryan is sure his hesitation is obvious on his face. He can’t help but want to sing with Shane again, to reach out and take his hand and beg for another duet together. In fact, his hand is already out, just barely catching the edge of Shane’s costume. The man turns around and smiles at Ryan so softly that Ryan almost thinks Shane might like him back.

  
“Merry Christmas,” he whispers and Ryan’s heart breaks at the sound of it. It was genuine, he thinks. This is the second part of Shane’s gift and it’s blown Ryan right out of the skies. This is hopeless now, he’ll forever be in love with this stupid titan man and there’s nothing he can do about it now. Ryan’s heart belongs to Shane, whether the man wants it or not.

  
“Merry Christmas,” Ryan says through his tears as Shane exits stage left. The audience gives a round of applause, the sound thundering throughout the hall they’re performing in. Ryan has to wait a second before continuing the musical, extremely surprised the performance moved the audience to break musical etiquette.

  
As the musical ends, and the curtain falls, Ryan feels his heart finally relax from the duet with Shane. The music for curtain call starts up and Ryan perks up from his spot in the wings, throwing on his performer smile before looking to his right. His smile slips when he sees Shane still in costume, smiling down at him like he’s been in love with Ryan this whole time. If only.

  
“How’d you like the second half of your present?” Shane asks as the curtain rises. Ryan doesn’t have time to answer as everyone heads out to the stage for their bows. He’s standing right next to Shane the whole time, joining their hands together as the entire cast takes their final bow as their characters. Ryan feels his eyes tearing up as all of the hardwork and dedication he’d put into his role, and everyone else’s love and passion, come to one final bow.

  
He turns to look at Shane, who hasn’t let go of his hand the entire time. Shane silently takes Ryan’s other hand and Ryan’s heart stops there, his breath hitching as Shane’s eyes meet his. He feels Shane’s hands let go of his and travel up his arm before cupping his face.

  
“Yes,” Ryan whispers before standing on his tip toes, crashing their lips together before Shane can. Fireworks fly in Ryan’s head as Shane’s hands hold his jaw in place, their kiss almost drowned out by the dancing figures and uproar of applause around them.

  
“Merry Christmas,” Shane whispers and Ryan can feel his smile against his lips.

  
“Thanks big guy. Best present ever,” Ryan whispers back and continues their kissing, pulling apart before going off to dance with the other cast members.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading! If you liked the fic, drop a quick kudos or if you're feeling generous, drop a comment! Happy holidays, merry new year, here's to 2019! <3
> 
> If you enjoyed this fic, visit the shyanlibrary on tumblr for more just like it. If you'd like to request anything, check me out at sarcasmrights on tumblr!


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